WTAW - Interviews

Rhonda Watson, the CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Brazos Valley, a partner agency of United Way of the Brazos Valley (UWBV), and UWBV president Peggi Goss visit with WTAW's Bill Oliver.

This podcast is a visit with the co-owners of the Kimbell Feed building in downtown Bryan, Kristy Petty and Cassidy Barton, and WTAW's Scott DeLucia.

Bryan city council members approve an economic development agreement involving downtown property on North Main.

There was no public discussion before the unanimous vote on Tuesday (January 9) to give the owners of the former Kimbell Feed building up to $250,000 towards an ongoing renovation project.

Conditions of getting city money includes completing construction by May 1, 2024 and having a taxable value of at least $2.5 million dollars by 2025.

According to the city's background information, planned uses includes a downtown visitor's center and leasing space for arts and cultural exhibits and retail businesses.

Click HERE to read and download background information given to the Bryan city council.

Click HERE to read and download the economic development agreement.

Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the seizure of a park in Eagle Pass, the border crisis, the new Speaker of the House, the relationship between Texas A&M University and the Space Force, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

Bryan Firefighter Chris Lamb visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about the community paramedic program, service calls and response statistics, cost of the program, challenges, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast is a visit with the chairman of the Texas A&M mechanical engineering department Dr. Rob Ambrose and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

The U.S. Space Force has chosen Texas A&M to lead one of two new space strategic technology institutes.

Directing the $37.6 million dollar, five year partnership of nine institutions and representatives of the private sector is the chairman of A&M's mechanical engineering department.

Dr. Rob Ambrose told WTAW News that the focus of their work involves space robotics and spacecraft operations for the space force.

Ambrose says what the Space Force "really wanted was to make sure that any new ideas that we developed in a university setting can get infused into a current proposal or an activity at one of the big companies that are building spacecraft for them" (the Space Force).

What Ambrose describes as a "dream team" from partner universities will "bring ideas to A&M (and) we'll be able to test them on our spacecraft simulator. And then this is the exciting part, if any of that actually works we can transfer them to companies and to the Space Force labs where they can be tested on actual spacecraft."

Specifics on the institute, according to a news release from the Space Force, says the A&M led group "will focus on procurement of technologies relating to spaceflight experimentation and space-related signal, energy, and transportation technologies."

Additionally, the Space Force says "Focus areas for the selected proposals include researching robotic servicing and associated modeling and simulation, developing testbeds, as well as CubeSat berthing and refueling technologies, developing constructive operations, large-scale in-space assembly, and debris mitigation."

News release from the Texas A&M system:

The United States Space Force has chosen Texas A&M University to lead the Space Strategic Technical Institute for In-Space Operations (SSTI-ISO), a groundbreaking initiative to advance technologies for in-space operations.SSTI-ISO will develop new in-space operations, infuse new technologies into industrial efforts and government laboratories and provide access to workforce, talent and subject matter experts for defense space missions.

Dr. Robert Ambrose, J. Mike Walker '66 Chair Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Texas A&M and Director for Space and Robotics Initiatives for the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, will lead SSTI-ISO as director.

“No university is better equipped for aeronautics and space projects than Texas A&M,” said John Sharp, chancellor of Texas A&M University System. “We thank General B. Chance Saltzman and the U.S. Space Force for trusting us with this important responsibility.”With Texas A&M as the lead university, most of the testing will be performed in a dual spacecraft testbed located at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus. At the end of last year, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, toured the RELLIS campus and its cutting-edge facilities to hear about the ongoing innovative research.“

As a space-grant institution, Texas A&M has a long history of conducting world-class research and technological innovation in space exploration,” said General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh lll, president of Texas A&M University. “This announcement not only acknowledges that Texas A&M is at the vanguard of space science and engineering, but it also emphasizes the exceptional quality of our world-class faculty. We are grateful to the U.S. Space Force for providing us with the opportunity to continue our work in this vital domain."

SSTI-ISO, a collaborative effort involving leading academic institutions and industry partners, has been awarded $37.6 million for a 5-year project.

Led by Texas A&M University, the team also includes researchers and students from the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, Purdue University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of New Mexico, the University of Texas at El Paso, Prairie View A&M University and the Southwest Research Institute, amassing over 400 years of combined experience in the space sector.“This is a real dream team for in-space operations,” Ambrose said. “These are professors that I have known for decades in some cases, and I’m really excited to bring everyone together to help the Space Force with its important mission in space.”

SSTI-ISO has garnered significant support from leading space industrial partners, including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Intuitive Machines, Blue Origin, Lunar Resources, Novium, Aegis, and Axiom Space, all of whom have signed letters of support for the project.“We will conduct extensive testing for the team here, evaluating and refining their ideas and algorithms for maturation and use by our industry partners,” Ambrose said. “We will be doing a lot of integrated testing.”More than 50 students and researchers across all member institutions will collaborate on innovative in-space operations with customer and industrial partners.

“Texas A&M University Engineering stands at the forefront of space research, uniting academic excellence, industry collaboration and cutting-edge research,” said Dr. Joe Elabd, interim vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&M Engineering. “This convergence positions the university as a nexus of exploration, pushing the boundaries and advancing the forefront of space exploration."

News release from the U.S. Space Force:

The United States Space Force selected two institutions under the Space Strategic Technology Institute, or SSTI 2, to facilitate applied research in the areas of In-Space Operations, which includes Space Access, Mobility, and Logistics, or SAML.

In partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory, USSF has selected the following lead institutions to receive a combined total of $49.9 million:- University of Cincinnati- Texas A&M UniversityThis opportunity, pursuant to the In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing National Strategy, will focus on procurement of technologies relating to spaceflight experimentation and space-related signal, energy, and transportation technologies.

Focus areas for the selected proposals include researching robotic servicing and associated modeling and simulation, developing testbeds, as well as CubeSat berthing and refueling technologies, developing constructive operations, large-scale in-space assembly, and debris mitigation.

This effort coincides with Space Force's involvement in the Consortium for Space Mobility and ISAM Capabilities, or COSMIC, kickoff event, Nov. 7-8, 2023, and will contribute to the national coalition in what Chief of Space Operations Mobilization Assistant Maj. Gen. John Olson referred to as a "WeSAM" approach.

About Space Strategic Technology Institutes: The United States Space Force is establishing Space Strategic Technology Institutes to address space Science and Technology challenges through a network of partnered universities. Space Force envisions the institutes will facilitate and focus joint applied research on transformational space domain technology breakthroughs and developments that lead to the advancement of capabilities that can be transitioned and integrated into current and future USSF and U.S. government space capabilities. It is highly desired for the research to lead to testbeds, high fidelity modeling and simulations, demonstrations, and prototypes. The research is expected to transition technology to higher technology readiness levels throughout the period of performance, and out years will be awarded based on an evaluation of this ability.

About Consortium for Space Mobility and ISAM Capabilities: The Consortium for Space Mobility and ISAM Capabilities is a U.S., nationwide coalition that will invigorate domestic In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing capability.

COSMIC’s mission is to make ISAM a routine part of space architectures and mission lifecycles to achieve the benefits described in the ISAM National Strategy (April, 2022). Goals will be approached in three thrusts: capability development, ecosystem economics and mission applications.

College Station Mayor John Nichols visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about the upcoming council meeting, College Station Utilities, traffic and road changes, an Amazon drone update, interest in the former Macy's store, upcoming facility project and issues, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast contains comments from the January 9, 2024 Bryan ISD school board meeting.

Those who have an interest in next year's Bryan ISD school calendar will be getting a chance to participate in a survey.

What choices may be available, are still undecided following a school board discussion that took place on Monday (January 8).

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the January 8, 2024 Bryan ISD school board meeting.

What is up in the air, is whether to continue BISD's full week off in October which began last year.

A compromise offered by board president Julie Harlin was to split five days off over two weeks...beginning with a Thursday and Friday then resuming the following Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Newly elected BISD board member Joel Bryan preferred a Monday through Friday period, which would take advantage of using the weekends before and after the break.

The BISD board's senior member, David Stasny, was opposed to bringing back a week long fall break.

Discussion will continue this Thursday (January 11) during meetings of BISD's calendar and districtwide educational improvement committees.

United Way of the Brazos Valley vice president Kat Gammon and the director of UWBV partner agency Health For All Liz Dickey visit with WTAW's Bill Oliver.

This podcast contains comments from the December 12, 2023 College Station ISD school board meeting.

Each year, College Station ISD school board members receive a report on campus enrollment and projected headcount for the next ten years.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from CSISD's demographer.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from CSISD administrators.

The CSISD board learned in December about two issues.College Station ISD school board members and administrators are facing two enrollment issues.

One, is the response to 101 fewer students in CSISD last fall compared to the year before. Chief financial officer Amy Drozd said a recruitment campaign will start this spring targeting families who live in CSISD but whose children attend school somewhere else.

The other issue, is the imbalance of the population of CSISD's elementary schools. Enrollment at Pebble Creek elementary will exceed 110 percent of capacity in the fall of 2025 and at Spring Creek elementary in the fall of 2027. In the fall of 2024, enrollment at four other CSISD elementaries will be under 85 percent of capacity and remain under 85 percent for the rest of the decade. They are College Hills, Creek View, Forest Ridge, and Greens Prairie.

That brought up for the first time in ten years, the consideration of changing elementary school boundaries. Superintendent Tim Harkrider said there is a productive way to balance populations of CSISD's elementary schools. Harkrider says numbers will be reviewed again after the start of the next school year to determine whether to consider changing elementary campus boundaries.

The demographer's report also indicated enrollment at College Station High School exceeded 110 percent of capacity. But that was before CSISD voters last November approved 62 million dollars of additions and renovations, which administrators say will solve the capacity issue. Last fall's enrollment at College Station High School was 34 more students than Consolidated. And for the next ten years, the projected difference in headcount will be 40 or fewer between CSISD's two major high schools.

And there was no opposition by any CSISD board members to continue voluntary transfer options for grades 5 through 8 from Pecan Trail to Cypress Grove intermediate schools and from Wellborn to College Station middle schools, and to continue differentiated staffing.

This podcast is a visit with Aggieland Humane Society executive director Katrina Ross and WTAW's Sean Burnett.

Aggieland Humane Society has expanded its operating hours to weekdays from noon to six and Saturdays from noon until five.

Executive director Katrina Ross, speaking on WTAW's The Infomaniacs, says they wanted to provide more time for people to adopt and foster animals and to become volunteers.

And this also comes at a time when they have a large animal population.

Ross also promoted a $24 adoption special that continues through Saturday, January 13.